1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable golf practice mat. More specifically, the invention relates to a golf practice mat which is extremely portable to the extent that it can be carried as standard equipment in any golf bag due to its small size and flexibility yet performs well with a full swing and standard golf ball, duplicating the feel and forgiveness associated with a natural fairway shot and maintaining a level lie with the surrounding surface so the golfer does not adapt his swing to the mat by changing the swing plane arc while providing a stable hitting area from which to hit continuous shots, anywhere.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of providing a golf practice mat and more specifically, a practice mat which simulates the feel of a natural fairway allowing a downward blow of the club under the ball and movement of the hitting surface like that of taking a divot are available but not well known as they are not widely used. Historically, golf practice mats were constructed using inverted brushes or strips of artificial grass permanently fastened to a stationary surface. The old mats were durable but did not "give" with the shot increasing the chance of harm or damage to person or equipment, or both. They were not portable and were used mostly at designated practice facilities.
Today's more conventional mats employ construction of artificial turf material molded to rubber cushions to protect equipment, however, there is no "give" in these mats either which can cause injury to the left shoulder, elbow, or wrists after continuous use. Also, a descending blow under and through the ball can not be achieved as the club bounces off the mat upon impact. The nature of their construction makes them very heavy and large, typically 4 feet square and not at all portable. Smaller mats of similar construction have an added heavy rubber base to hold the mats in place. These mats react similar to the larger range mats and are even less forgiving as they rest above the ground in an elevated position, causing one to change their golf swing to scoop the ball or flatten their swing plane arc to avoid injury. They too are heavy and are relatively large usually constructed to a size of 1 foot by 2 feet to allow enough weight to be stable. This eliminates their portability.
More forgiving mats were created all with the similar intent of reducing resistance, allowing a downward blow, and creating a more natural like feel to that of a fairway. They were created to improve upon the stationary and unforgiving mats. However, they incorporate configurations that resulted in an elevated lie or rigid apparatus that necessitated a swing plane arc change or permanent placement to have any practicality. Also, they employ elastic tethers to achieve the "give" feeling by placing two tethers at opposite sides of the mat to offset the forward and reverse movements of the mat, placing one forward and one back or one on each side perpendicular to the forward and back motion resulting in either case with tethers in the hitting area increasing the chance of damage or injury, especially if used with a small portable mat.